


the son of rage and love

by rosewitchx



Series: Bodyguard AU [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: ??? i thnk??, Ableist Language, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Non-Linear Narrative, also sorta, hes just a baby you guys, i havent slept. please help me., sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24664210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosewitchx/pseuds/rosewitchx
Summary: Babysitting a little kid is a hassle, especially so when it's the child of your former liege who faked her death and abandoned you to your doom.It's chill, though.Or: Jasper and Pearl, raising Steven Diamond Universe.
Relationships: Jasper & Steven Universe, Pearl & Jasper (Steven Universe), Pearl & Steven Universe
Series: Bodyguard AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754770
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	the son of rage and love

**Author's Note:**

> title: jesus of suburbia - green day.

“Jasper?”

She looks down for the first time in almost a full day, feeling the irritation creep up on her before she’s even seen his dumb, chubby face. He’s barely four years old, but he’s clearly not like any other gem she’s ever known; he’s clumsy, and small, and pretty stupid and not strong at all. He can’t even speak properly. But he’s her Diamond, or something like that. So she contains her annoyance. 

“Yes?,” she asks him. He hasn’t been scared of her gruffy voice since, well, ever. Which is outstanding. The little prince sniffles, a habit he definitely picked up from the other children at the Zoo on their last visit; his tiny hands clutch onto a plush thing the pebbles had made for him when they first arrived. 

“I had a bad dream,” he mumbles, staring at the perfectly polished floor. 

Jasper can’t help but roll her eyes. “Go ask Pearl,” she tells him. “I’m busy.”

“Pear’s not here,” Steven whines. 

“Stars, just go back to bed. You’ll fall asleep.”

He lingers by her side for just a little longer before resigning himself back into his room. But Jasper’s peace doesn’t last long; soon enough, there’s another pull at her leg, and she doesn’t bother holding back now. “What do you want?”

“I can’t sleep,” Steven says now. “Can you read me a story?”

“No.”

“Pleaaaaase?”

“I said no, my Diamond.”

“Not even if I do this?”

Jasper looks down at the kid. His face is contorted into a pitiful but frankly quite adorable expression, and she knows exactly what he’s doing. The other humans had called it a  _ puppy face.  _

It’s working. 

“If you don’t go back to bed, I’ll have to call Blue Diamond.” Immediately Steven’s expression drops into something more genuinely terrified. He leaves without a word, after that. 

If she can hear him crying from inside, she pretends she can’t hear it. 

Pearl returns the next day, thankfully, bringing Steven breakfast. He bites down on the fruit, but it’s clear he’s not very hungry, and he keeps yawning and squinting his eyes. Jasper tries not to feel guilty about it. 

Steven’s daily routine is comfortable, and it works. They wake him up early, a few hours after the sun rises over Homeworld’s horizon; he then eats, takes a bath (with Pearl’s help, because he’s useless like that) and then he spends the rest of the day learning about gem society: how to behave, how to write, how to read, how to sing. the afternoons are usually reserved for jasper, so she can train him in combat, but he’s so frail and frankly annoying that she ends up having to disguise the drills as “games”, as per Pearl’s suggestion. And then he takes another bath, because he’s disgusting, and another meal, and then it’s time for bed again, unless the other Diamonds want a word with him (which usually, they don’t).

Today is different, though, because Steven’s grumpy, and when Pearl sits him down on the table the Pebbles made him, he draws scribbles and what vaguely looks like a blob instead of properly filling his writing sheet.

“I don’t wanna,” he grumbles, when asked to fulfill his works. Pearl sighs, but doesn’t make him do it; they’ll have more time, tomorrow come. So instead she reads to him, about gem history. Nothing too serious, just stories about space and other colonies, and he listens, sitting on her lap, until Jasper nudges at Pearl and she realizes he’s fallen asleep.

“I know you don’t like him very much, but he’s still a kid, Jasper,” Pearl tells her, as they tuck him in his bed. ”He doesn’t understand why you hate him.” 

“I don’t  _ hate  _ him,” Jasper defends herself. “He’s just an idiot, and it’s annoying.”

“He’s not an  _ idiot.  _ He just needs time. And patience. He’s actually quite smart for his age, if you’ll believe that.”

Jasper looks down at the kid. He’s very tired, isn’t he. “He’s scared of the dark,” she says. “How silly is that?”

“Not silly,” Pearl muses. “Just human.”

In the afternoon, when Steven wakes from his nap, they go straight to train. Pearl goes run some errands, possibly reporting to White; Jasper doesn’t know nor care. She summons a ball, and smiles. “You wanna play volleyball with me?”

“No,” Steven says. He’s still staring at the floor.

“Are you _still_ upset?” He doesn’t reply. He can be so immature, sometimes. She calls back the ball, her smile falling, and crosses her arms. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

He shuffles. Shakes his head. Oh, stars, is he crying again?

“My Diamond,” Jasper repeats herself. 

“I wanna go back,” he says. “I don’t wanna talk to you.”

“Well, that’s not gonna happen right now.”

“You’re mad. You’re always mad when you see me.” Steven rubs at his eyes, and his whole little body trembles. Jasper feels very guilty, suddenly. “I’m sorry ‘m dumb.”

“No, no,” she hurries to say, coming closer to him and picking him up. She wipes at his tears, and her fingertips tingle. “Don't cry. Don't cry, Steven. You’re not dumb. You’re- I  _ love  _ you. I’m- don't cry.”

The little Diamond hides his face into her shoulder. He doesn’t say much more, but the conversation has already shaken her to her core. “You hate me,” he mumbles at some point.

“I don’t hate you, Steven.” She looks down, rubbing his back with care. “I would never hate you. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

How long has she made her little Diamond feel like this? It sits bitter right behind her tongue, even as she carries him back to his quarters, right into Pearl’s arms for a bath. Her Prince of the Universe. Her somewhat bothersome kid. Her Steven. Pink would’ve been angry at her, but Steven as always just goes and redirects it towards himself. She stands guard and thinks on it. 

Pearl exits the room a few hours later. “Well, he’s asleep… I think he’s still upset.” Jasper nods. She expected that to happen. Pearl places her hand on her arm, and Jasper’s thankful no one can see them. “He’ll be alright.”

“I’m not worried,” Jasper defends herself. 

Pearl looks at her and for a moment she thinks she’s gonna give her that one look she has reserved for when she fucks up, the  _ I-told-you-so _ she despises so badly, but then she gifts her with the sight of her rare shit-eating grin and a “yeah,  _ right,  _ Jasper,” and it’s like she never left. 

“Shut up,” she rolls her eyes and gets back in position. 


End file.
